Arts and Freedom

Voice 2:And I'm Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 3:‘This award is not just for me. It is also for artists that have become victims for working with me. And it is an award for theatre in this country.'

Voice 1:Cont Mhlanga is a man who mixes intelligence with courage. These are necessary qualities for artists in Zimbabwe. In November, 2008, Cont Mhlanga received an award for his work from ArtVenture. This organisation works to help artists who use their art to help people to improve their lives. The group awarded Mhlanga the ‘ArtVenture Freedom to Create Prize'. The prize is worth about 50,000 dollars. In today's Spotlight we look at ArtVenture, and artists under pressure.

Voice 2:It is easy to see that Cont Mhlanga is an artist. His wide dark eyes tell you that they have something important to say. They tell a story that comes from years of experience of life in Zimbabwe. His once pure black hair has started to go grey. But most of all - he has an air of determination. He refuses to surrender to the hopelessness around him - or to the authorities.

Voice 1:Cont Mhlanga has written over 20 plays - stories for actors to perform. The authorities banned his last two plays for their political content. In his plays, Mhlanga often uses a particular kind of intelligent humour: satire. The play that won the award for Mhlanga is, ‘The Good President'. The play is presented as imaginary, as fiction. In the first part of the play, protestors gather together. But police chase them away. A gathering of more than five is against the country's law. The play also shows an elected opposition leader being badly beaten at the police station.

Actors performed the play in Zimbabwe in 2007. Authorities banned the play because they said it was political. But ArtVenture gave the award for that very same reason. The judges of the award described the play as;

Voice 4:‘. . a political satire that shows an African dictator who has ruled Zimbabwe for 27 years since the country became independent in 1980.'

Voice 1:Mhlanga said:

Voice 3:‘People are free to create whatever meaning they want from the play. That is the purpose of theatre.'

Voice 2:Another award went to a South East Asian artist. This man made thousands of people laugh. But now he stands behind prison bars. Zarganar is a popular comedian in Burma - famous for making people laugh. And he is the winner of the ArtVenture "Freedom to Create: Imprisoned Artist" Prize. Zarganar freely uses humour to speak about the military government. Burmese authorities have arrested him for this in the past. But they have always released him. But in November 2008, the authorities sentenced Zarganar to 45 years imprisonment. Earlier that year Zarganar had helped victims of Cyclone Nargis. He organised a group to deliver private aid. Normally a government would welcome this kind of help. However, Zarganar also publicly criticized the government for being slow to help the victims of the cyclone. It seems Zarganar represented a threat to the government's authority. Human rights groups have condemned Zarganar's trial.

Voice 1:There were many artists who came close to winning ArtVenture's main prize. ArtVenture published a ‘short list' of these artists and groups. The list included popular singer ‘Deeyah.